Learn To Make This Delicious Fried Veal Or Chicken Cutlets With Fried Potatoes!>
I have many wonderful memories from my childhood associated with the Linder family. Chippy and Dave Linder and their children Meryl and Michael were very, very close friends of our family, and I loved being with them. What a wonderful family they were! I especially loved being around Chippy. She had (and still has) a quick wit. She just had a unique way of saying things; I never wanted to miss one word. Everything that came out of Chippy’s mouth seemed to have a touch of common sense and wisdom, tinged with humor. A memory I have is sitting in her beautiful kitchen on Buttfield Drive in Plainfield, New Jersey and just enjoying being there and listening to her talk. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that Chippy got this recipe from her wonderful and legendary mother in law, Rose Linder. This recipe calls for veal cutlets, but when I have made it, I have used chicken cutlets. If you try this recipe, you will not be disappointed!

• 1 pound of veal or chicken cutlets
• matzoh meal
• corn flakes crumbs
• 2 pounds of potatoes
• 2 eggs
• fresh cracked black pepper
• kosher salt
• paprika
• corn or light olive oil for frying

Parboil about 2 pounds of small red or small yukon gold potatoes until they are just starting to get soft. (If you are using red potatoes, you can leave the skins on. If you are not, then peel the potatoes before you parboil them.) As soon as you can pierce the potatoes with a fork or a knife, drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Slice into 1/4 inch thick slices, and sprinkle with a little kosher salt (if you are using salt) and paprika, and set aside.

Crack 2 eggs into a bowl and mix with 2 teaspoons of water, some kosher salt, and some fresh cracked pepper. Then pour equal amounts of matzoh meal and cornflakes crumbs onto a plate. Dip the cutlets first into the egg mixture on both sides, and then into the matzoh meal and corn flakes crumbs mixture on both sides. Then sprinkle some paprika on top of the cutlets. Pour some oil in a large frying pan, only about 1/8 of an inch high. When the oil is hot, place cutlets in. Toss the sliced potatoes in with the veal or chicken. As you fry and turn the cutlets and the potatoes, the potatoes will start to brown and pick up some of the crumbs too. Fry the veal or chicken and the potatoes until they are beautifully browned. Serve.

Note: I recommend that you use a really big non-stick frying pan (industrial size) which you can purchase at Costco or at a restaurant supply store.

This Delicious Recipe For Brisket Is As Delicious As It Is Easy!

This recipe comes from a very special family, the Slotnicks.  If I had to name one or two people (outside of my parents and my children) who helped me out during very tough years in my life, it would be this family.  Richard, Barbara, and their son Michael are just wonderful people.  They were ALWAYS (and still are) there for me and my children, especially my son Benji.  The Slotnicks are mensches (a mensch is a person with a good soul). 

I have been lucky to eat Barbara’s delicious food on more than one occasion.  I ate this brisket once at their house, and it was delicious.  The secret of this recipe is that it uses really easy ingredients to create a flavor that is rich and delicious!  Please try this.  You won’t be disappointed!

3 12 oz. cans of apricot nectar

3 packages of Lipton’s onion soup mix )

4 - 5 pounds of brisket, first cut (one or two pieces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour 1 can of nectar and 1 packet of onion soup mix in the large pan you will be using to bake the brisket.  Stir the soup into the nectar to dissolve.  Place brisket fat side down into the pan.  Sprinkle the second packet of onion soup mix over the brisket.  Then pour the second can of nectar over the soup mix.  Repeat with last packet of soup mix and last can of juice.  Make sure the soup mix is mixed in well with the nectar.  There will be a lot of liquid.  That is okay.  Cover the pan tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil. 

Bake 3 1/2 hours.  Take out.  Check meat.  If your fork goes in very easily, then the meat is tender and it is done.  If you feel there is a little resistance when you put the fork in, cover the meat again, and bake it for another half hour.  If most of the liquid has evaporated, add some more water before you put it back in the oven.  Take out, and make sure meat is tender.  Let it cool in the gravy for about a half hour.  Then take the meat out, put it on a plate, and let it cool another half hour to hour before you slice it.  If you do not have enough gravy in the pan because it has evaporated and reduced, then you can add some water to reconstitute the gravy.  The reduction in the pan will be very rich, so adding some water will not hurt the taste of the gravy. 

When the meat is cool, slice it about 1/4 inch thick.  Then carefully place the slices back in the gravy. 

Note 1:  You can cook this up to three days in advance of serving it.  It will keep fine in the refrigerator. 

Note 2:  If you are having a hard time figuring out how to slice the brisket, turn it over.  You will be able to see how the grain is running by looking at the flat side of the brisket.  Look at the lines that are running parallel to each other in the meat.  Then, slice the meat so that your slices make a right angle with the parallel lines in the meat.  Once you figure out how you will be slicing the meat, you can turn it back over and begin.

Note 3:  I use an electric knife to slice my meat. 

Note 4:  If you like thicker or thinner slices, slice it accordingly. 

Note 5:  I have occasionally had to cook my brisket for up to 4 1/2 hours, believe it or not.  Sometimes the meat will be tough, and it just might need that extra time to become tender.

Make this tasty chicken dish that is similar to a stew!

This recipe was adapted from my Aunt Sally’s recipe for chicken fricassee.  My memories of this dish are from when I was growing up.  Chicken fricassee was one of my Aunt Sally’s specialties.  Almost everyone in her family loved that dish, but I think my cousins Bobby and Paul especially loved it.  I don’t think my cousin Janie liked it as a child, because as I recall, Janie only liked 2 things, plain noodles with butter and spaghetti with sauce.   Well, when my Grandpa Hindes was living with my Uncle Nat and my Aunt Sally after my grandmother died, my parents, my brother Kenny and I would go every Friday night to my aunt’s and uncle’s house to visit my grandfather.  Sometimes when we got to the house, the chicken fricassee leftovers from dinner would still be sitting out on the counter.  As I walked through the kitchen to go into the porch where my grandfather would be sitting and watching tv, I would literally stare at the plate of leftovers.  Yes, my mouth would start to water just looking at the chicken.  The smell was incredible, and aesthetically, I just liked the way the dish looked. (My aunt was a fabulous cook!)  My cousins Bobby and Paul would usually be watching tv in the porch too.  Inevitably, they’d get up and make themselves plates of the leftover chicken fricassee.   I was so jealous.  I wanted a plate too, but I never had the nerve to ask.  Sometimes, I’d go in the kitchen and steal a little taste.  It was so delicious!  Another memory I have associated with this dish is that when my Grandma Fried died and we were sitting shiva at my Aunt Florence and Uncle Larry’s house, my Aunt Sally made a hug shissle of her chicken fricassee for our whole family.  Even in the midst of mourning, I specifically remember how delighted I was that my Aunt Sally cooked this for us.  How I was loved eating this chicken! 

• 2 largish or 1 very large onion- medium dice
• 5-8 garlic cloves- chopped
• 5 large chicken breast pieces on the bone or one whole chicken cut up in eighths
• 1-  28 ounce can of whole peeled organic tomatoes in tomato juice (crush by hand or roughly chop), including juice in the can
• 2 tablespoons white wine (optional)- (I prefer without- Sept. 2011)
• 1 bunch fresh organic carrots, peeled and cut up into large chunks
• kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper
• paprika
• garlic powder
• olive oil - extra virgin- organic preferable- or light is fine too
• rice or egg noodles for serving 

Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper,  garlic powder, and a lot of paprika.  Set aside. 

Peel and chop onion to your liking, either diced or roughly chopped.   (If your children don’t like to see pieces of onion in their food, you can chop the onion finely in the food processor, using the metal blade.)  Then peel garlic, crush it, and set aside. 

Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven, or a large and deep frying pan, or large saucepan.  Put onion in, and saute over medium flame.  When onion is almost translucent, put the garlic in.  Season the onion and garlic mixture with salt and pepper.  Saute for another minute or two.   Place the chicken pieces in the pot or pan, and brown lightly on one side over a medium-low flame.  Turn the chicken, and brown on the other side.  (After you turn it, sprinkle it with a little more paprika.) After chicken in lightly browned on both sides, pour the chopped tomatoes and juice in- I just squeeze the tomatoes by hand as I drop them in, put the cut up carrots in, and add the white wine (optional).  Put the top on.  Cook about 45 min. or so, over a low to medium heat to maintain a definite simmer.  Give chicken a light sprinkling of paprika once or twice.  Take the breasts out, and turn off the flame.  Let the chicken cool so you can handle it.  Then take the skin off, and take the meat off the bone, breaking it by hand into nice bite size pieces.  Then put all the chicken back in the pot.  Put the top on, and simmer over lowest flame another 30 minutes or so.  Start preparing either rice or noodles to serve it with.  You can keep dish at a simmer while the rice is cooking ; the chicken won’t dry out if it cooks a little longer.  You may do a few things at this point.  You can serve the chicken on top of rice or noodles on a platter, or you can serve the rice or noodles separately. 

If you like, you do not have to take the meat off the bone- just cook the chicken in the pot initailly about 15 minutes longer and serve on the bone.

Note:  If you want to make this according to my Aunt Sally’s recipe, serve the chicken on the bone.    

Make this  kugel- it’s like making a giant potato latke!

When I hear the phrase “potato kugel”, I remember back to when I was a very little girl.  My Grandma Fried lived in a small apartment in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.  Maybe once a month, my father would take my brother Kenny and me to visit her.  My Grandma Fried was a very kind, sweet woman who had had a very hard life.  She was a very loving grandmother.  What I remember so well is when we walked into the apartment building, I immediately smelled the delicious aroma of my grandmother’s potato kugel.  I know that my father loved her potato kugel.  When I got married, I started to develop my own recipe for potato kugel.  My goal was to create a dish that would taste just like the best potato latke only bigger.  I achieved my goal.  This potato kugel recipe is perfect.  When you take a bite, it’s a little greasy, a little crunchy, and oh, so good! I like to make this recipe as a side dish for Rosh Hashana, Passover, or Shabbat.  It is so easy to make, and everyone loves it!

For a 10 x 15 baking dish                        For a 9 x 13 baking dish 

• 5 pounds baking potatoes                              9 large potatoes

• 7 extra large eggs                                            4 extra large eggs

• 4 medium-large onions                                   3 med.-large onions

• heavy 1 1/3 cups matzoh meal                     2/3 cup matzoh meal

• 1 cup corn oil                                                    3/4 cup corn oil

• additional oil for greasing dish                       additional oil 

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt                                 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper                                  1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut potatoes into quarters.  Peel onions and cut into quarters.  Place one third of eggs, potatoes and onions into a blender.  Blend until mixture is the consistency of applesauce.  Pour the mixture into a very large mixing bowl.  Repeat this two more times to use all potatoes, onions, and eggs.  Then add matzoh meal, salt, and pepper to the potato mixture.  Mix with rubber spatula.

Grease the sides and bottom of either your 10 x 15 or the 9 x 13 pyrex baking dish with oil .  Then pour either the 1 cup or the 3/4 cup of oil into the dish.  Place in oven for about 5 minutes to get the oil really hot.  (If you think you might forget that your oil is in the oven, skip this step and just pour the room temperature oil into the batter; otherwise, you will have a fire if you leave the oil in the oven too long!) Then take the dish with the hot oil out of the oven and pour the hot oil into the potato mixture.  Mix with a rubber spatula to incorporate the oil.  Then pour the batter into the greased baking dish.  Bake for about 1 hour.  Take out of oven, and shmear a few additional tablespoons of oil over the top of the kugel.  Place back in oven for another 15-30 minutes until the top is very brown.  The kugel should be well browned on the bottom, the sides, and the top.

Note:  You may make this a day or two in advance, and then reheat it in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes.

Serve this amazing side dish to go along with a light dairy meal, as part of  a brunch buffet, or for your Yom Kippur break the fast feast!

My wonderful mother, Shirley Fried, got this recipe from her best friend and our favorite neighbor, Adele Hochheiser. I think the recipe is nicknamed Sister’s, because Adele’s first cousins affectionately referred to her as “sister.” My mother made this often, and oh did my mother, my father, and I love it. For some reason, my brother Kenny was not fond of this dish. My mother made this to go with our fish night- our Wednesday night dinner. I don’t think I’ve written about my mother’s weekly dinner schedule yet- when I was growing up, so this is as good a place as any. Throughout my entire childhood, we basically ate the same thing every week. And believe me, that was not a bad thing. There is something very reassuring about knowing what your meals are going to be. My mother’s meals were all extremely balanced, too. I loved each and every meal. How I looked forward to them!  Here is our weekly dinner menu:

Monday: rib steak ( and sometimes London broil, which was cooked by me in my teen years after we had a gas grill), french fries, LeSeurr peas, salad with Wishbone Italian Dressing, and years later, Ken’s Caesar, or Milani 1890 French)

Tuesday: stew (Adele Hochheiser’s recipe) with rice and salad, or spaghetti and meat sauce (my Aunt Sally Hindes’s recipe) with salad and garlic bread, or sweet and sour meatballs with mashed potatoes, frozen spinach, and salad, or vegetable soup with flanken (a rare treat)- soup served separately and flanken served on a plate with mashed potatoes, or meatloaf (Anita Lapidus’s recipe) with baked potatoes, string beans and salad

Wednesday: a beautiful platter of tuna salad served on a bed of lettuce surrounded by sliced cucumbers, radishes, green peppers, and a plate of sliced Jersey tomatoes (in the summer), accompanied by macaroni and cheese casserole, or this noodle pudding recipe, or brown rice pudding, or apple fritters

Thursday: same as Tuesday

Friday: My mother alternated between chicken and brisket. She cooked one Empire frozen chicken cup up in eighths baked with either Saucy Susan, or Kellogg’s Cornflakes Crumbs, or fried Southern style by our beloved cleaning lady who I loved, Harriet. The chicken was served with one 8 oz. can of peas and carrots, salad, and my mother’s delicious pineapple noodle pudding. She served her brisket with our favorite potato dish, brenta, peas and carrots, and salad.

All dinners were followed by either a half of a grapefruit, fruit cocktail, sliced canned peaches or pear halves, a wedge of cantaloupe, or jello.

This was followed by dessert. My brother Kenny and I were allowed one Tastycake, or 3 Hydrox, or 3 Chips Ahoy cookies. This was my father’s favorite part of the meal.  He would take out one package of chocolate Tastycakes, Krimpets, peanut butter Tandytakes, or  a  Tasycake Junior, and he’d eat the entire package with a few glasses of ice cold skim milk.  How my father adored his Tastycakes!

Anyway, here is the recipe for Adele’s noodle pudding.  It is rich and delicious! 

for the filling:

• 1 pound extra wide or broad egg noodles (such as Pennsylvania Dutch)
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter or Fleischmann’s margarine
• 1 cup granulated sugar (reduce to 1/2 cup if desired)
• 1 pound small curd or whipped cottage cheese I use Friendship brand cottage cheese)
• 1 pint (16 oz.) sour cream ( or substitute plain Greek yogurt)
• 5 extra large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

for the cornflakes crumbs topping:

Mix one cup of Kellogg’s Cornflakes Crumbs (this comes already prepared as crumbs in the box) with 3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine.  Set topping aside.

Or crush by hand about 3 cups of corn flakes, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine, and about 1 tablespoon of sugar.

for an alternate cornflakes crumbs topping:

Make cornflakes crumbs yourself by placing cornflakes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and pulsing until the crumbs are quite fine. Continue until you have one cup of crumbs.  You will probably need about 3 cups of cornflakes to make one cup of cornflakes crumbs.  Mix with 3 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine. Set topping aside.

for a more rustic cornflakes crumbs topping:

Place about 3 cups of cornflakes into a ziploc bag.  Using a rolling pin or your hands, crush the cornflakes until you have crumbs that are not quite so fine.  Mix cornflakes with about 6 tablespoons of melted margarine or butter.  Set topping aside.

for the filling: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cook noodles till al dente.  Drain noodles in colander.  While noodles are draining, put the margarine or butter into the same pot to melt on low heat.  When margarine or butter is melted, take the pot off the heat.  Put the noodles back in.  Add the sugar and mix with a rubber spatula.  Add the cottage cheese and mix in.  Then add the milk, the vanilla, the beaten eggs, and mix in with the spatula.  Finally, add the sour cream, and blend in.  (add raisins at this point if you wish)

Pour filling into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle cornflakes crumbs topping evenly over the top of the filling.  Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour 10 min. to 1 hour and 20 min. until starts to puff in the center, and until the bottom and sides start to brown.  The center should be set, and a toothpick should come out clean.

Notes:  The topping is optional.  If you prefer, you can just sprinkle the top with cinnamon.  You can also reduce the calories in the dish by reducing the sugar to 3/4 cup and reducing the margarine or butter to 1 stick.  You may also use a lowfat cottage cheese.  I do not recommend using a low fat sour cream or low fat milk. 

You may freeze this unbaked without the topping.  Wrap it well, though.  Then defrost it in the refrigerator, make the topping, and bake it.  You may also prepare this up to 2 days before you wish to bake it, and keep it refrigerated without the topping on it.  Then make the topping the day you will be baking the kugel, and put the topping on it right before you put it in the oven.  If you are baking this right out of the refrigerator, it will probably take about 20 more minutes of baking time. 

May 18, 2011

My daughter Randi asked me to make the kugel with whole wheat noodles.  Luckily I found Ronzoni whole grain egg noodles at the Stop and Shop in Aberdeen.  The bag is only 12 oz. but I basically kept the quantities of everything the same since whole grain tends to absorb more liquid.  Changes included for the filling: I used about 1 1/4 cups milk, I used only 1/2 stick butter, I added about 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to filling and 3 small boxes of organic raisins, I used 1 teaspoon vanilla, I used a heavy 1/2 cup sugar, I happened to use 1 pound Friendship 2% cottage cheese- pot style,  I used 16 oz. Daisy sour cream, 5 extra large eggs.  For the topping, I melted 2 tablespoons butter in a bowl, I added 2 cups of coursely crushed corn flakes crumbs, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Follow above directions for baking.

This Chopped Liver Is Light And Fluffy! 

This is a recipe for the most delicious chopped liver you will ever eat in your life.  My mother, Shirley Fried, got this recipe from my Aunt Florence.  My mother made this recipe once a year, on Thanksgiving.  I think Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday growing up.  Besides my parents, my brother Kenny, and I, we always had my father’s family over, which consisted of his twin brother, my Uncle Larry, my Aunt Florence, and their three children, Karen, David, and Debbie.  Everyone, and I mean everyone looked forward to that meal.  And that meal was the same every single year.  Here is the menu:  for hor d’oeuvres we had my mother’s homemade chopped liver with party rye, Cohen’s little hot dogs in blankets, Cohen’s  miniature potato puffs, Cohen’s miniature egg rolls, and Sacramento tomato juice.  For the main course we had roast turkey (Empire) with stuffing (my Grandma Rose’s recipe), brisket (my mother’s recipe), salad, cranberry jello mold, candied sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes from around the turkey,  and French string beans with glazed baby carrots.  For dessert we had my mother’s homemade apple pies (she baked 2) with vanilla ice cream, and sliced chocolate pound cake or chocolate chip squares.  

Everyone loved knowing that the menu would always be exactly the same.  There was something reassuring about that.  My aunt, uncle, and cousins loved the food, and so did my parents, Kenny and I.  What stands out in my memory is how my cousin Debbie, who was the youngest of my three cousins, really overstuffed herself.  She would start yawning at the table, then she’d start to laugh out loud herself because she knew she had eaten too much, she’d say something like, “Debba, what have you done!”, and then she’d have to get up and move over to the couch, where she would sweetly doze off.  I am laughing out loud right now as I picture the expression on her face as she realized how full she was.  Those were the days.  There were none better.  How I wish I could go back and relive them.  What a wonderful family I had!   

Anyway, when my mother made the chopped liver, it was quite a ritual.  I can still see her in my mind as she prepared the recipe.  First, she boiled the eggs.  Then she chopped up some onions and fried them in her Farberware frying pan in corn oil.  When they were nicely browned, she transferred them to a bowl.  In the same frying pan, she put the Empire Kosher chicken livers.  She’d cut them in half to make sure there was no blood left.  When they were done, she’d transfer them into the bowl with the onions.  Then my mother and I would go down to the basement where the meat grinder was. She’d attach the meat grinder to a special table that was adequate to do the job.  Then she’d put some eggs in the top of the grinder, some onions, and some liver.  She would turn the big crank.  It was amazing to me how these items went in whole, and came out like little snakes.  When she was all done, we’d go back up to the kitchen where my mother would begin lightly mashing the ingredients together in a bowl.  She’d pour the oil left in the frying pan into the mixture.  She would add some salt and pepper.  Then my mother and I would start the fun part, tasting it.   My mother would ask me if I thought we needed a little more oil, a little more salt, or pepper.  She kept re-seasoning until the chopped liver was perfect.  And it was perfect, and every bit of the preparation was worthwhile.  Oh, did I love that treat.  And so did my father, and my mother (my brother Kenny hated chopped liver).   

I have started to make this recipe again.  It’s pretty easy, because I have the grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer.  When I make it, I actually fry the livers and onions in the same frying pan my mother used (she handed it down to me).  I use that pan because it brings back such wonderful memories.   I usually make the chopped liver for holidays like Passover.  I make it now mostly for my mother, who still loves it so much.  She likes to take the leftovers home.  She loves making herself a sandwich on rye with a little mustard.  I just wish that my father could be eating it, too.  

• 8 oz. Empire frozen chicken livers, defrosted in the refrigerator
• 2 very large or 4 medium- large onions
• 8 jumbo or 9 extra large eggs
• kosher salt
• pepper
• corn oil

Defrost the box of Empire frozen chicken livers in the refrigerator.   Start cooking your hard boiled eggs.  Place my eggs in a pot and cover them with water.  Bring the water up to a boil, and then simmer the eggs for 20 minutes.  Then run the pot under cold water, and then peel the eggs.  Set them aside.  Peel and medium dice the onions.  Put about 1/2 cup of corn oil in a heavy frying pan. Then fry the onions over medium heat.  Season the onions with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper as you’re frying them.  Fry them until they are nicely browned but not burned.  Take the onions out and put them in a bowl, set aside.  Now, place the defrosted chicken livers in the same frying pan, and saute them over a medium flame, turning them as necessary.  Cut them to make sure they are cooked through.  Take them out one at time, and put them in a small bowl; set aside. 

Use the grinder attachment of your mixer. Put a nice large bowl under the grinder to catch everything.   Put an egg in, some onions, and some liver.  Run the machine.  Then continue with an egg, some onions, and some liver until you have used everything up.  Pour the leftover oil from frying right in the bowl.  Add some more kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and start to gently mash the ingredients together with a fork, as if you were making egg salad.  If you think the mixture is too dry, add one or two teaspoons more of oil.  Taste frequently, and adjust for seasoning.  Refrigerate in serving bowl or in a plastic container. 

Note:  I like to make this either the same day I am serving it, or only 1 day in advance. 

This recipe is the one I developed and have used for years whenever my family is in the mood for potato pancakes.  These are the real thing.  I always make them by the dozens for Chanukah.  A few years ago, I included them in my menu for a Christmas Eve party at my boyfriend Jim’s house.  The funniest moment of the night to me was when one of the guests, who was Italian walked in and asked me if I was cooking potato latkes.  My potato pancakes disappeared as quickly as I served them.  For a party, I like to make them small, about the size of a silver dollar pancake.  I usually use matzo meal in them, but I have often used flour instead, and they come out fantastic.  They have a slightly lighter texture with the flour.  Try them both ways, and decide which you like better.  I serve them with apple sauce and sour cream.  They are extremely easy to make, so please try your hand at this.  You won’t regret it!

I usually double this recipe.

• 3 large sized Idaho or russet potatoes
• 2 large eggs or 1 jumbo egg
• 1 medium to large onion
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour or matzo meal  
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying (for the best taste, use corn oil)
• Sour cream and applesauce for serving

Peel and quarter the onion. Then peel potatoes, and pat them dry with paper towels, and quarter them. Crack egg or eggs into a blender. Add a few pieces of one potato, and then blend it. Then add the rest of the potatoes and the onion. Blend on high until the mixture is the consistency of apple sauce. The mixture should not be so pureed that it looks like liquid. It needs to be lumpy. But there should not be any whole pieces of potato or onion in it. When the blender is full, dump the mixture out into a large mixing bowl. If you are doubling the recipe, repeat and dump the mixture a second time into the large mixing bowl. Then add the matzo meal or flour, the salt, and pepper. Mix with a rubber spatula.

Heat oil ,about 1/8 to 1/4 inch high, in large frying pan over a medium to high heat (I use both non-stick and regular). Drop spoonfuls of batter into oil, about the size of silver dollar pancakes. You will be able to see when the latkes are really starting to brown. Loosen them with a good, sharp spatula from the pan, and if they are really browned on the bottom, flip them over. Then brown them on the other side. As they are done, take them out and put them on paper towels to drain. Flip them over on the paper towels to drain on the other side. Eat immediately with applesauce or sour cream. Or, you may freeze them once they have cooled.

If you are heating up your frozen latkes, take out as many as you wish right from the freezer, and put them into a preheated 375 to 400 degree oven on a sheet pan covered with aluminum foil, or a disposable cookie sheet with sides, and heat for about 15 minutes or until they are hot and bubbly.

Note: If I freeze them, I usually use an aluminum tin, and I make layers without overlapping the latkes, and I put a sheet of aluminum foil in between my layers.

This is another outstanding recipe from my Grandma Hindes.  I never had her apple fritters, but I did have my mother’s.  This dish was one of my mother’s favorites when she was growing up.  My mother always mentions what a great cook her mother was, but for some reason my mother didn’t appreciate most of her mother’s cooking when she was growing up.  But my mother did love my grandmother’s apple fritters - a lot.   I remember hearing my mother explain how my grandfather and my Uncle Nat would come home every noon from the dress factory they owned and worked at in South River, N.J. (The South River Dress Company), to one of these delicious full course lunches.  The apple fritters were one of the delicious side dishes she made for them for lunch.  My mother made these when I was growing up, too.  These are delicious!  When most people think of fritters, they think of something that is roundish in shape and deep fried.  These are neither. They are more like a pancake, with a light and airy batter, with delectable chunks of sweet apple inside.  You have to try them.  Really, I can’t tell you how lucky you are to have the opportunity to make this family, heirloom recipe!  Don’t miss this rare opportunity!

• 4 extra large eggs
• 1 cup of regular milk
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour 
• 2 generous pinches baking powder (each one about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 pinches Kosher salt (each one about 1/4 teaspoon)
• 2 heaping tablespoons granulated sugar
• 6 large Rome, Winesap, Granny Smith, Yellow Delicious, or other baking apples, cut into thinnish chunks (or blueberries, peaches, nectarines- see note below)
• oil for frying ( corn or canola)

Peel and slice the apples.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk the milk with the eggs.  Whisk in the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the sugar until the mixture is as lump free as possible.  I usually need to add the 1/4 cup more flour mentioned above if the batter is too thin.  Fold in the apples with a rubber spatula.

Heat corn oil or canola oil in a large frying pan, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch high.  Drop spoonfuls in about the size of silver dollar pancakes.  The batter will get a bit puffy, and when it is nicely browned on the bottom, flip over with a spatula.  Brown on the other side, and drain on paper towels.  I serve them with granulated sugar served on the side, but I guess you could sprinkle them with confectioners sugar.  The taste of the granulated sugar on them is perfect, though! 

Note:  These may be frozen in an aluminum tin.  Lay them so they are not overlapping.  Then put a sheet of aluminum foil over the first layer, and repeat with a second layer of fritters.  You can heat them directly from the freezer.  Put them on a half sheet pan or on a cookie sheet covered with foil into a preheated oven, about 350 degrees until they are hot and bubbly (about 20 min.) 

In the summer, I substitute peaches, nectarines, or blueberries for the apples.  Nectarines, I don’t peel, which is great.

This morning- June 26, 2011, I just made the above batter, divided in half, added about 1 heavy cup of blueberries to the one half of the batter, and 2 or 3 nectarines, cut up, to the other half of the batter.  Now we have some of each!

This recipe was adapted by me from my Aunt Florence’s brisket recipe.  I loved brisket growing up.  Although I liked my mother’s brisket a lot, it didn’t hold a candle to my Aunt Florence’s, which I was lucky enough to eat every Passover at her house.  When I saw that platter of brisket arriving at the table, my mouth was watering.  The meat was such a dark brown, rich color, and the flavor of the meat when it hit my tongue was heavenly; there really are no sufficient words to describe how good that brisket tasted to me.  I was always worried there wouldn’t be enough for me.  Luckily, there usually was.  Anyway, I started making this brisket around 1978 right after I got married.  I couldn’t wait to start making my aunt’s amazing brisket.  I followed my Aunt Florence’s recipe, but I did change the cooking method.  She cooked the brisket in a pot for the whole cooking time.  But I decided to start the cooking on the stove, and then transfer the pot into the oven for a few hours.  This method resulted in the brisket having the same incredible dark brown color and rich taste, but the meat was much more tender.  My brisket became the talk of the family.  I had achieved great heights in cooking when I mastered my aunt’s incomparable brisket!

• About 5 pounds brisket, first or thin cut- you can use 1 big piece or 2 smaller pieces
• About 5-6 medium to large onions
• About 2 fat or 4 thin carrots
• Kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder

Season both sides of the meat pretty heavily with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Peel and quarter the onions and put them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Pulse the onions until they resemble the consistency of chunky apple sauce.  Put the onions on the bottom of a large dutch oven or very large oven-proof pot.  Then, slice the carrots into very thin sticks or grate them  onto the top of the onions in the dutch oven.  Place the meat on top of the onions and carrots.  Pour about 1 cup of cold water around the meat.  Cover the dutch oven.  Put the heat on medium, and bring the water to a boil.  Cook on a high simmer about 30 minutes with the cover on.  Then take the cover off and cook on high heat until all the liquid evaporates.  The onions and carrots and meat will start to brown.  Lift the meat up with a strong metal spatula and mush the vegetables around.  Turn the meat eventually when it’s really brown on the bottom.  It will almost be burning a little, as will the vegetables.  When that starts to happen, add more cold water, about 1 cup.  Notice the color of the gravy.  It probably will be a light to medium brown.  That isn’t dark enough.  Let the new liquid reduce down and evaporate.  The meat and vegetables will be browning more.  When all liquid is evaporated add another cup of cold water.  If the gravy is dark and rich, you are ready for the next step.  If you still think the gravy is not dark, repeat the reducing and browning process one more time.

When you have decided that your gravy is dark and rich, add one more cup of water.  There should be lots of gravy now around the meat.  Cover the dutch oven or pot (I use aluminum foil first and then I put the cover on top of that).  Put the dutch oven into the oven at about 350 degrees.  Let it cook for about 2 hours.  Take it out, uncover it, and check it for tenderness.  put a fork in.  If it is done, the fork will go in very easily.  It probably won’t be tender enough at this point.  Add some more water if the gravy has reduced too much.  Cover the meat, and put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.  Check again, and put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.  It might be ready at this point.  The meat usually needs at least 3 hours in the oven.  Sometimes, depending on the meat, I have actually kept it in the oven for 4 or 5 hours.  Now, if one of your pieces of brisket is tender before the other, take that piece out and let it cool on a late.  When the rest of the meat is done, take it out and put it on a plate.  The meat should cool for about 1 hour before you slice it.  Use an electric knife and slice it against the grain about 1/4 inch thick.  Pour all the gravy into whatever dish you plan to heat the meat up in when you serve it.  You can also pour the gravy into a disposable aluminum roasting pan, if you plan to heat it up in that.  Trim any fat off your slices, then place them in the gravy and smoosh the gravy into the meat.  If you think the gravy has reduced too much, you may add some water to it to make some more gravy.  You can put the meat into the refrigerator up to 3 days before you will be reheating and serving it.  I usually take the brisket out of the refrigerator one or two hours before I start to reheat it.  You can cook this and freeze it, but I don’t think it tastes quite as good.   

My mother made this recipe often.  It was her mother’s, my Grandma Hindes’s recipe.  My grandmother was born in 1908, so if she were alive today, she would be around 100 years old.  My grandmother was an immigrant from Europe.  She immigrated to this country from a place called Galicia, which is now part of Poland.  She was a huge fan of a nutritionist on the radio named Carlton Fredericks.  She learned a lot from him and followed his advice.  My grandmother was way ahead of her time.  My mother and her brother Nat were the ONLY children who brought sandwiches to school made with whole wheat bread.  When my mother talks about her mother’s wisdom in this area, she is still amazed by it.  For that generation, being concerned about nutrition and healthy ingredients was very uncommon.  Well, my grandmother developed this delicious rice pudding recipe because she wanted to create a healthy version of a rather unhealthy dish.  She made it as a side dish that she served along with tuna salad or broiled fish.  My mother made this many times, and my father loved it!  He liked it plain or warm with a little milk in it.  When my father was still alive, I often made this for him so he could take it home and have it as a yummy snack.    I also regularly make this and deliver it to my daughter Randi and my mother as they love it too.  As soon as the cool weather hits, I start making this recipe.  It’s such comfort food!  I like to know it’s in the fridge for a late night healthier than usual snack.  When I put that first bite in my mouth, I’m in heaven.  How many healthy dishes can you say that about?  I know that this is not your traditional rice pudding recipe, but it’s mine.  So please, give this family, heirloom recipe of mine a whirl.  Trust me, once you taste it, you will love knowing that this healthy treat is waiting for you in the refrigerator.

• 1 cup whole grain brown rice (not instant)- I use Uncle Ben’s or Carolina.
• a nice chunk of butter or Fleischmann’s margarine- about 2-3 tablespoons
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (I’ve been reducing this to 1/4 cup lately)
• 1 1/4 cups of whole milk (or half and half or light cream for an even richer pudding)
• 3 extra large eggs (or 4 for an even richer pudding)
• cinnamon

Note:  If you wish to make this dish healthier, you may reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup and use lowfat or skim milk in place of the whole milk. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a two quart casserole dish well with butter or margarine.  Crack the eggs in a mixing bowl, and mix them with the milk.

Combine the rice, 2 1/4 cups cold water in a 2 quart saucepan or follow instructions for amount of water on box.  Bring the water to a boil, then put the lid on and lower the flame as low as possible.  Simmer about 30 minutes until the water is completely absorbed.  Recently, I started putting a chunk of margarine in too.

Take the saucepan with the rice off the stove.  Put your greased casserole dish into the oven to heat it up while you are completing the rest of the recipe.  Drop the butter or margarine into the rice and mix it through the rice until it is completely melted through.  Then, dump the sugar in and mix gently with a rubber spatula.  Sprinkle some cinnamon in - about 1/2 teaspoon.  Then pour milk and egg mixture into the rice mixture and mix it in well with the rubber spatula.  Take out the casserole dish, and pour the rice mixture in.   Sprinkle the top of the pudding with a nice amount of cinnamon.  Place the casserole dish in the center of the oven.  Bake it for about 1 hour - 1 hour and 15 minutes until the sides and top are brown.  Let the pudding cool a few minutes before serving, or let it cool completely, and then put it in the refrigerator for later.  You can take out a portion any time, and warm it up in the microwave.